Saturday, August 1, 2015

MST3K XXI

MST3K vs. Gamera
is a special collection of Gamera
movies in a metal tin. My husband was pretty excited when this boxed set of Mystery Science Theater 3000 came out
because he was certain that there was no way the Sandy Frank dubbed films would
get released. This collection includes Gamera
(episode 302), Gamera vs. Barugon (304),
Gamera vs. Gaos (308), Gamera vs. Guiron (312), Gamera vs. Zigra (316). These movies are
fantastic for anyone who enjoys over-dubbed films about rubber suit monsters.

Unfortunately, there is no turtle meat in this tin.

For those who haven’t seen these movies, Gamera is a giant
turtle who terrorizes Japan yet befriends small children. The first Gamera movie follows a child named Kenny
who loves turtles, particularly one named Tibby. Even Tom Servo can’t resist
Tibby’s charms and sings a love song to the turtle. Anyway, Kenny eventually
upgrades his turtle to become Gamera’s best friend.

In Gamera vs. Barugon,
Barugon is hatched from a radioactive egg. Barugon is giant lizard-dog-beast,
and he can shoot deadly rainbows. The best part of this episode includes Servo
and Crow dressed as monsters ordering dessert at a restaurant. Joel played the
waiter, which required him to wear a lot of flair. Gamera is barely in this
movie, but the Satellite of Love crew that’s because Gamera directed this
movie.

Gamera returns to fight a new rubber monster in Gamera vs. Gaos. Gaos is a pointy headed
flying fiend who loves to drink the blood of humans. The people construct a
giant blood fountain at one point as an attempt to defeat Gaos, but it’s fails
and Gamera has to save the day. Gamera also befriends a new Kenny named Itchy.
During one of the host segments, Joel attempts to teach the viewers how to
craft a Gaos of their very own. However, Crow and Servo spoil the bit at tell
children to drink glue and cut out interesting pictures from library books!

Gamera vs. Guiron
stars a pair of Kennies who travel via spaceship to a planet called Terra. The
boys keep calling it a star instead of a planet, and it irritates the
‘bots. Guiron is the king monster on
this new planet, and he has a Swiss Army knife head. After witnessing Guiron
chop up space Gaos, the boys meet a pair of Southern, brain-eating aliens.
Gamera brings the boys back to Earth, and a man name Cornjob helps welcome them
back home. The episode concludes with Joel, Servo, Crow, and Gypsy singing the
Gamera theme song.

To celebrate the last movie, Gamera vs. Zigra, Joel turned Tom Servo into a root beer keg for
their party. In this film, the preschool protagonist is Kenny and he’s
accompanied by a little girl. I want to say that her name is Kennette, but it
might be Helen. The children have parents that work at Sea World, which is
depressing for anyone who watched Blackfish.
The nemesis Zigra is a giant sea monster with a taste for human flesh, and he
enslaves an Earth woman to do his evil bidding. Of course, Gamera saves the
day. The host segments during this episode are pretty good, including a bit
when the robots make dioramas of their Gamera experiences. This is also the
episode when Dr. Clayton Forrester reveals his mullet!